Frederick Marriott and Pickford Marriott

Recently, I discovered the artworks of two British artists who worked together in the 1800-1900's. I found them through a website http://www.muzeumsecesji.pl and have been captivated by them.

The artists are the brothers, Frederick Marriott (b. 1860 - d. 1941) and Frank Pickford Marriott (b. 1876 - d. 1935). I have learned they are often confused with one another. Pickford (Frank) lived in South Africa and his art can be found at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in Port Elizabeth. As children, they were born in Britain and lived in Australia. Pickford moved back to England and at the age of nineteen went to college and studied art. He became a teacher of art in England but lived in South Africa (and taught) for awhile. His brother, Frederick (Peter) Marriott is listed as having been a sculptor and engraver. At the age of fourteen, Frederick studied pottery and was granted a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art in 1879. Frederick also painted (and etched) traditional landscapes.

The two brothers collaborated together in a similar style when it came to art. Among their most impressive pieces are those that are made with genuine mother-of-pearl. They worked in gesso as well and combined the two to make stunning Pre-Raphaelite/Art Nouveau themed portraits. The older brother, Frederick, explained his methods in an article called, "Unpublished Notes on Gesso by Frederick Marriott". The process they used involved boiling shells in different colors to get certain hues. Then the shells were polished to reflect the saturation of the colors. The shell pieces were shaped, cut and affixed to tracing paper to see how to position the pieces and how the light would fall on them. Then raised gesso would be added and the gesso covered in gold leaf or platinum leaf.

To perfect these paintings, the process was extremely labor intensive.  Much emphasis was added into the details.

"The Annunciation" by Pickford Marriott (possibly both brothers), gesso and mother-of-pearl on panel. From the auction site Bonhams.

"The Faithful Knight in Equal Field subdues his Faithless Foe" circa early 1900's, by Frederick Marriott.

"The Angel of Night", 1904 by Frederick Marriott.

"St. Cecilia", 1903 by Frederick Marriott. Clearer/larger version here.

Unknown panel found via pinterest.

A very beautiful high resolution painting can be found at the Queensland Art Gallery: "Love in her eyes sits playing" 1902 by Pickford Marriott.

The brothers' works remind me of the symbolist painter, John Duncan. There's a 'King Arthur' mythology look to their styles with a good amount of Pre-Raphaelite themes.

Tristan and Isolde, 1912 by John Duncan.

Overall, the brothers have a very beautiful way of capturing light using a natural material like mother-of-pearl. I have not really seen artwork with such an unusual medium and am happy to have stumbled upon them. They really knew how to work with textures and patterns in unique materials as well.

References:
British Paintings
Mapping the Sculpture Project
Bonhams
ThePotteries

Jane Atché

I'd like to introduce readers to a lovely female art nouveau artist named Jane Atché. She was a French poster artist whose style sometimes resembled Alphonse Mucha's. According to biographies of her life, at one time she even mentored under Mucha.

"Job" lithograph before lettering, circa 1896

I first came across this artist at a local museum exhibition on art nouveau. Imagine my surprise to see a female artist among the greats of art nouveau paintings and lithographs! For many years I had thought there weren't many art nouveau women artists at all (mainly because they were never mentioned in the books I read or pictures I saw) but now I know they did in fact exist. And they were just as talented as the male artists of the day.

Jane Atché was born in Toulouse, France around 1872. She excelled in art and at the age of 24 debuted her poster for JOB cigarette papers at the Cirque de Reims (I think she may have been the only woman to create advertisements for JOB at the time as well). Among the other artists in the exhibition were Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec. From that point on she would exhibit her own engravings, lithographs and paintings at various galleries.

Another version of the JOB lithograph.

In the early 1900's she worked in the field of publishing. She contributed to a journal for little girls called "La Poupée Modèle". Atché's illustrations also wound up on postcards, sheet music and advertisements as well.

"Portrait de femme symboliste"

Cover illustration for Jugend magazine

She signed her paintings by combining the letters "J" and "A" in her name which made for a unique signature.

"Mistletoe and Holly" (above), decorative panels, 1899. Source: Gallica.

Atché mainly focused on producing images with women as the focal point. You can see the influence of Mucha in her works as the lines are often very delicate and yet, defining and strong.

Self-portrait with hat, 1909.

Above three images from this literary collection.

sheet music, found from pinterest.

sheet music illustration

Most of the information I found was through an online translation of this article in French, which really covers a lot! (and if there are any errors in this info - it is because I do not know French, sadly)

Atché passed away in 1937 in Paris, France, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful and feminine artworks which are now being rediscovered. There are still local museums that carry her work in France and a quick online search will uncover which ones do. :) Overall I am so happy that Atché pursued art and made a successful career back then. In general, we do not hear about women artists in Art Nouveau. It is refreshing and amazing when we do.

Emmanuel "Manuel" Orazi

I thought it would be interesting to feature the art of Emmanuel Orazi, an Italian graphic artist, who created posters, jewelry designs, illustrations and movie set designs.

 

Emmanuel "Manuel" Orazi was born in Italy in 1860 and worked in Paris creating graphic art. There's not a lot of information on the internet (that I've found so far) but there are some bits of info I have gleaned...

In 1892 Orazi moved to Paris and established himself as an artist working in the Art Nouveau style. He created newspaper illustrations, advertisements and book illustrations.

Advertisement for Job cigarette papers by Orazi.

Book illustration for "The wonderful adventures of Huon of Bordeaux"

"Ophelia" illustration by Orazi

A few years later in 1896, Orazi was commissioned to create an advertisement for the gallery Maison de l’Art Nouveau (House of New Art) in Paris. This gallery (started by Samuel Bing) showcased a collection of modern artworks. Artists were invited to display their pieces in the "new style" of art nouveau. This launched him into being recognized at the time.

One of Orazi's most interesting projects was in 1895 when he created an occult-themed calendar, the "Calendrier Magique," (which was a spoof of religious calendars of the time). He collaborated with author, Austin De Croz, and only 777 editions were produced. The double-paged calendar was intended to be a parody exploring 1895 as "the year of magic." The illustrations are eerie, dark, campy and with a flair for the unusual.

"Black Mass", 1903 illustration for satire magazine, "L'Assiette au beurre," depicting literary figures, Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde, Maurice Maeterlinck and Marcel Proust.

"La belle sans nom" (The pretty girl without a name). Painting by Manuel Orazi illustrating a literary work by Jean Rameau. From Figaro Illustré, 1900.

From what I have gathered, Orazi made illustrations for French magazines like Figaro Illustré and the satirical newspaper, "L’Assiette au beurre" (The Butter Plate). He also did the art for several written works like "Les Fleurs du mal" by Baudelaire; "Aventures merveilleuses de Huon de Bordeaux" (The wonderful adventures of Huon of Bordeaux) by Gaston Paris; and "Aphrodite" by Pierre Louis.

La Maison Moderne advertisement (1902)

Orazi, in addition to being a talented poster artist, also designed hair combs. In his poster for La Maison Moderne (1902) you can see the unique hair comb design.

These images (above) from a 1902 book show designs of haircombs and hatpins/hairpins that Orazi (sometimes credited as "Orazzi") created.

Later in life Orazi was in charge of making set designs and costume designs for the 1921 French-Belgian silent film, "L'Atlantide". In addition to painting and designing sets, Orazi also designed posters promoting the movie (which can be seen above).

Poster for "L'Hippodrome" at the boulevard de Clichy, Paris, France (c. 1900).

I first came across Orazi's work for "L'Hippodrome," which I thought was incredibly detailed. One of the things I noticed about Orazi's art was his unique style when painting jewelry or costumes.  His artwork tends to radiate a fantastical style and sometimes I see a bit of surrealism in his works too.

Orazi passed away in 1934 leaving behind many beautiful designs and artwork which we still enjoy today.